


My Pet Bee

by fanpirex (Kingsy)



Series: Tales of a Teenage Witch [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Dog Sirius - Freeform, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Young Hermione
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-08
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2018-03-06 15:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3139874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kingsy/pseuds/fanpirex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five-year-old Hermione Granger finds an abandoned black dog in her garden and decides to adopt him into the family.</p><p>To see the banner for this ficlet, go <a href="http://fpxmemories.tumblr.com/post/96676882401">here</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My Pet Bee

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if I'll write more for this. At the moment, it's still just a one-shot like most of the other ficlets for this series will be. If you have a suggestion for continuing this story, then let me know in a comment!

Little Hermione was having the most wonderful day.

First her daddy had given her a new book about how bees were born and kept as pets in large containers, which really rather made her want a pet bee of her own. Then her mummy had taken her shopping for a new top, one that was bright yellow and reminded her of the honey that bees harvested. And lastly, she had gotten to eat a rare large vanilla and strawberry ice-cream because it was very, very hot—hot enough that she even spotted a few bees!

She beamed as she washed off her sticky hands and wiped any excess ice-cream from her numb lips.

The sun was still shining bright and she was anxious to go outside and play in the garden for a couple hours before settling in the shade to finish her new book.

Clutching the book tight, she made her way downstairs, kissed her daddy’s cheek where he was reading the newspaper in his armchair and waved to her mummy where she was pruning a bush beside the patio doors. The grass was lovely and crisp beneath her bare feet as she ran to her favourite spot in the garden, a big tree that sheltered her from rain and was surrounded by pretty blue flowers, and she carefully put her book down.

Just as she was pulling on her imaginary gloves to pretend she was ripping out some pretend weeds in her imaginary picture perfect garden, a soft whine startled her. She glanced up at her mummy to see that she hadn’t heard anything and would have shrugged off the sound if not for the second more drawn out whine that followed.

Hermione wandered cautiously towards the garden gate and peered out through the iron bars.

A quiet bark made her jump back.

Leaping to her feet with recognition, she unlatched the gate like she’d watched her parents do and edged towards the limp black dog collapsed in a ball not three feet away. Its large body shuddered as she got nearer and a whine was heard again.

Hesitantly, Hermione reached out a hand to touch its matted, dirty fur. “Doggy?” she asked softly.

The dog shuddered much more violently and rose quickly to whirl around. She squeaked in surprise, finding herself staring into two big eyes.

But the dog rapidly calmed and silenced its defensive snarl, staring back at the little girl with wariness. So Hermione mustered up her courage and reached out further to stroke its head.

Despite its grimy fur, she smiled when the dog closed its eyes and leaned into her hand.

“Who are you?” she wondered curiously.

The dog opened its eyes to look at her again.

“I’m Hermione Granger,” she told it promptly.

The dog woofed quietly.

She grinned. “I think I like you. Come play with me!” She urged the dog to accompany her through her garden gate, but the dog whimpered and she suddenly realised it was limping. “Oh no!” she cried. “You’re hurt! Wait here!”

And off she went, calling for her parents. Doctors Henry and Elizabeth Granger instantly rushed towards their daughter and the former scooped her up into his arms.

“What is it, darling?” he asked worriedly while his wife hovered over his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

She nodded frantically and wriggled to get down, “Yes, yes, I’m fine! But doggy isn’t!” Grabbing her daddy’s and mummy’s hand, she pulled them both towards the gate. Bewildered, her parents followed.

When they saw the larger than normal dog, Henry kept his daughter back at a safe distance even as she pleaded with them to help. It wasn’t until the dog whined pitifully that Elizabeth approached it and checked it over with caution.

She looked up at her husband with concern. “Dear, it’s badly injured and malnourished. We should take it to the vets.”

Swallowing, he nodded and let go of his daughter, allowing her to shoot over to the dog and throw her little arms around its neck. Henry fetched the keys then helped his wife and daughter load the dog into the car.

Hours later, the dog—a male, they had been informed—was all clean and disinfected and sporting a cone around his right foreleg.

The vets were now speaking with her parents as Hermione stroked the now conscious dog. The adults were discussing what to do with him when she finally spoke up. Throughout their conversation, she had been staring at the cone around the dog’s leg. It was a sunny yellow and reminded her of her new top and book. That decided it for her.

She looked up at her parents.

“I want to keep him as a pet.”

* * *

It had taken much pleading on her part, but now Hermione woke up every morning with a black shaggy dog watching her lazily.

The newly christened ‘Bee’ always curled up just beside her bed as if to guard her each night when she went to sleep, and she thought that he would have likely even jumped up onto her bed with her if his leg wasn’t hurt.

Each morning she smiled brightly at him and leapt from under her covers to give him a cuddle. Her daddy helped her bathe him and her mummy bought dog food for her to feed him and the Granger household was an even happier place with its new addition.

Not long after finding the dog, an urgent report made its way onto the news.

“Mass murderer Sirius Black has escaped from prison. He is armed and incredibly dangerous, folks. For your safety, phone this helpline immediately if you spot this man.”

Hermione was sitting beside her daddy at the time this message was released, with Bee curled up at her feet. The dog whimpered and her daddy looked at her very seriously. “Honey, I want you to be careful; no more going off on your own. Always make sure Mummy or I are with you, all right?”

“But Bee can protect me,” she protested. The dog barked softly.

Henry didn’t pause. “Bee is injured and wouldn’t be able to protect you if, heavens forbid, you were in great danger. Now promise me you won’t go anywhere alone.”

She sighed, though didn’t argue further because her daddy was always right. “I promise.”

* * *

A few months later and Bee’s leg had healed enough for the cone to be taken away. Hermione had been given strict instructions to exercise him thoroughly and she had risen to the duty with determination.

After no sightings or mentions of the escaped serial killer for so long, her parents were more lenient on letting Hermione go out on her own now. Though she still wasn’t allowed far, they let her walk Bee around the block every day before dinner when the sun was high and lots of other children were still playing outside.

They lived in a nice neighbourhood and she had fun telling Bee about different memories she had growing up there as she carefully led him down the roads. The dog seemed to listen intently to her as usual and she was so glad: It made the bullies at school seem like pointless nuisances that were easily forgotten.

But one day as she walked Bee, several children flocked around the two and forced them to stop. With a rapidly sinking heart, she recognised them to be her main bullies.

“Hey, Frizzy,” one of the boys jeered, “where’s all your books?”

Another taunted, “Do you have so many books because you have no friends?”

Though Hermione thinned her lips and refused to speak, Bee started to growl low in his throat and lowered his neck to glare at them angrily. One of the girls looked at him in disgust. “Look at it—so pathetic. Just like you, bookworm. No wonder you get along.”

“He’s not pathetic,” Hermione argued, unable to stop herself. She immediately regretted it when the group of bullies crowed in delight.

“Ooh, look at that,” a boy sneered, “little miss know-it-all loves the mutt.”

And it seemed like the boy was about to continue with his mocking but when he stepped just that tiny bit closer to her, Bee snapped his sharp teeth at him and snarled loudly.

Startled, the boy stumbled back and one of the girls wailed with fear. Another boy, however, bravely stepped forward and tried to push Hermione, apparently ignoring the dog. This was clearly a mistake as in mere seconds the boy was pushed to the floor roughly, earning some scrapes on his elbows, with Bee’s two front paws atop him.

“Get away from me!” the boy cried. The other bullies ran away now, scared of the furious canine, leaving the fallen boy behind.

Hermione jumped into action, worried about the boy despite his horrid teasing and also concerned that Bee had hurt his leg again from shoving the boy.

She gripped Bee’s collar, pulling him away with all her might and he let her without much fuss though he continued to growl. The boy scrambled to his feet and fled quickly, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Bee, you shouldn’t hurt people!” she scolded, still shaking with anxiety and adrenaline.

The dog looked at her with wide innocent eyes and whimpered at her.

“It doesn’t matter if he was being mean to me,” she continued, frowning. “Don’t do it again.”

He bowed his head sadly and whined until she threw her arms around him. She buried her face in his soft black fur and crumbled a little.

“You could have hurt yourself too,” she cried and hugged him tighter. Sniffling, she sat back on her heels and rubbed at her red eyes.

Bee whined again and pressed his wet nose against her cheek before licking at the tears. She laughed tearfully. “Thank you though. I love you, Bee,” she smiled at him and embraced him again. “Don’t ever leave me,” she mumbled into his neck.

Unbeknownst to her, the dog closed his eyes mournfully.

* * *

Weeks and weeks later, for the first time since she had found him roughly six months ago, Bee wasn’t there to greet Hermione in the morning.

She spent hours searching for him around the house and made her mummy and daddy put up ‘lost dog’ posters on nearly every lamppost in their town. The next day she woke up feeling crushed that he still wasn’t there to greet her—but yet her hope remained.

When a month had gone by, her parents started looking at her with sadness and remorse. She ignored them; their pity wasn’t needed because Bee would never abandon her.

He was just lost, that was all.

Six weeks after he’d disappeared, she found her little book about bees, hidden in an alcove beside her desk. It must have fallen down there some time ago. She read through it again and cried a little as she turned the pages.

Several more months past though and then Hermione began to lose hope. After sightings of the criminal Sirius Black, she again was not allowed to go out alone. Her life consisted of her room, where she read until exhaustion hit her, and school, where the bullies started teasing her again now that her furry guardian had vanished.

She didn’t go outside anymore. Not to play or even to read. She couldn’t face her own garden, remembering it only as the area she’d found him.

She remained lonely for years to come. Never again did she ask for a pet and her parents didn’t mention anything about one either. Bee remained in her heart and nothing would ever replace him.

And when a letter came through her letterbox from a school named Hogwarts, she wondered whether magic would be able to find him for her. She tried and tried to find some kind of spell to help her, but none were of any use.

For the first couple of friendless months at Hogwarts, she would lay at night on her new bed in Gryffindor Tower and agonise over why he had left. Maybe he had seen her use accidental magic, though try as she might she couldn’t think of any such occasion.

There had simply been no need for magic to have come to her aid; not with him there beside her, guarding her.

He had made her so happy. Maybe she hadn’t made him happy. Maybe that was why he’d left.

She didn’t care; he was her first friend and she would love him all the same even if he did willingly abandon her. She secretly hoped he hadn’t but she wouldn’t blame him if he had. No one liked her, the know-it-all swot. Not even her fellow witches and wizards.

When her birthday came around on the nineteenth of September, she spent the day alone in the library, surrounded by her beloved books. And though she had no cake to eat or candles to blow out, she made a wish. She wished aloud, albeit quietly, for a friend at Hogwarts.

In her head and in her heart, she wished for her first friend. Her pet Bee.


	2. My Friend Bee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a black dog appears to drag Ron off beneath the Whomping Willow, Hermione can’t help but see a resemblance to her lost pet Bee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this turned out more angsty than I originally planned. Whoops? But hey, it's the follow-up you all wanted :D

It had been almost nine years since Hermione had last see her pet Bee.

She had hoped that having real friends would help the ache scab over, but that hadn’t been the case. Harry and Ron were great, and she loved them dearly, but there was something missing in her heart and she had finally gotten sick of feeling this way. She begged her parents to let her buy a familiar.

She settled on a cat and named him Crookshanks, thinking it much more mature than the name she’d picked for her first pet. The thought made her chest hurt but she tried not to let her smile fall. Crookshanks was incredibly clever, which really wasn’t a surprise, considering he was of magical breed. While he wasn’t big and intimidating to others, Hermione was sure the cat would protect her just as Bee had once done.

She boarded the Hogwarts Express happily, her pet in tow. Even with Ron’s disdain and his hands clutching at his pet rat Scabbers tightly, her happiness wouldn’t subside. That is, until the dementors arrived and Hermione found herself all alone, her mind trapped in a whirlwind of insecurities and fear and heartbreak.

Afterwards, still shaking and with some chocolate in hand as she listened to Mr. Lupin, she thought that perhaps the name Sirius Black was familiar but couldn’t remember why.

* * *

 

Hermione was sure she was going mad.

Throughout the entire school year, she’d felt like she was being watched, followed. She tried her hardest to ignore the sensations and resolved not to tell the others about it, knowing they were much too concerned with everything else going on. Amongst all the chaos, Professor McGonagall had entrusted her with a Time Turner and it was a great honour and responsibility. Hermione didn’t tell her friends about that either.

She felt herself growing warier and more paranoid. She was losing sleep, not only to the vast amounts of work she was keeping up with, but also due to the tension that simply wouldn’t leave her. Something was different and she just wasn’t sure what.

When she caught a glimpse of black fur out of the corner of her eye, she whipped around but found nothing. She came to the startling conclusion, standing outside by the Black Lake, that she might be hallucinating from exhaustion; because that dark shape on the fringe of her vision had most certainly been Bee.

Seeing the image of her lost pet every now and then for months thereafter, Hermione tried to sleep more and improve her lacklustre health. When that failed to work, and her studies piled up higher and higher, she considered asking Madam Pomphrey for some rejuvenating potions. She decided against it. The healer would ask questions and Hermione wasn’t sure who knew of the Time Turner in her care. So once again, feeling isolated from everyone around her, she told no one of her fragile mental and physical state.

* * *

 

She was staring. Hermione knew she was staring. She couldn’t stop herself.

Sirius Black had lured them all into the Shrieking Shack and was trying to prove his innocence. Sirius Black, the mass murderer who betrayed Harry’s parents and spent over a decade in Azkaban for his crimes, stood before her with his hair bedraggled and his face dirtied. Sirius Black, the Animagus, had dragged Ron under the Whomping Willow in the form of a big black dog.

She knew she should be more focused on the clear danger she and her friends were in, but she just couldn’t get past it:

His Animagus form looked uncannily like her dear pet Bee.

The man himself hadn’t really looked at her much, and she was sure she was imagining things, because Bee was merely a dog and many dogs looked alike. Bee was a dog that had been injured and had stayed with her for months and loved her and protected her and then became lost. This man couldn’t be her pet Bee because that meant he had _ran away_.

Bee wouldn’t have left her willingly. He had loved her. He was her first friend.

Watching this Sirius Black, she was sure he couldn’t have been her lost pet. Bee was probably out there somewhere, trying to find her still, because of course he wasn’t dead and of course he missed her and of course _he was a dog_.

But by Merlin did they look similar.

With all the drama that had occurred, Hermione never got a chance to speak to Sirius Black alone.

She told herself it was for the best. If a teenage girl started asking if you were once her pet dog nearly a decade ago, you’d think her crazy. And maybe she was, Hermione pondered. Because suddenly she didn’t feel like something was following or watching her anymore. Suddenly she was no longer having sleep-deprived hallucinations of her friend Bee.

Somehow it made her hurt even more.

* * *

 

The train back to Kings Cross Station was much less eventful than their journey to Hogwarts, but Hermione’s wind kept whirring. Harry had received an owl from his godfather. She had waited with baited breath as her friend read it aloud.

Heart beating erratically, she listened as certain thoughts and theories were confirmed, she listened as Harry’s smile grew wider and wider, she listened as Ron was bequeathed the small delivery owl in return for his ‘rat’, and she listened as she herself was given just a short note from Sirius Black.

“’Tell Hermione thank you, and that I’m sorry’,” Harry read with confusion. “What does that mean? Hermione?”

He was sorry.

There was no doubt in her mind now. Bee. She could almost burst with happiness. She had found him! But the joy didn’t last.

_He still left._

Sinking into her seat, she gave Harry a feeble excuse for the apology, not able to bear telling him and Ron of her misfortune. The lack of attention Sirius Black had shown her was suddenly unavoidable. Why? Had he not cared about her?

She resolved not to dwell on it. Bee was gone. Sirius Black was on the run and out of the picture, and that’s how everything would stay for a while. She didn’t need Bee now; she had friends. She would be just fine.

And yet her heart continued to sink.

When she and her friends met Sirius in the cave during their fourth year, the man spared her a few glances every now and then. She tried to ignore them. The wound had scabbed over and she hoped not to peal it off prematurely. It had already been a close thing at seeing his dog form earlier.

She secretly wondered if he felt bad for ruining their reunion with his mind so set on revenge. She wondered if those months in a loving home, her loving home, had eased some of Azkaban’s torture. She wondered if he had left that loving home because he had remembered his godson. She wondered if it was fair to be jealous of Harry just a little.

It seemed like Sirius didn’t want to talk to her publicly. She didn’t mind. She didn’t want to talk to him. She felt better thinking of Sirius as a different entity to Bee.

When they all said goodbye, Sirius hesitated again, and Hermione held her breath despite everything, but he only warned them not to wander outside Hogwarts. She took that to heart, as much as she wished to visit him again and ask all her questions.

* * *

 

Receiving an invitation to stay with the Weasleys at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters had been a surprise. Being told by Professor Dumbledore that she couldn’t contact Harry had been an irritation. Finding out that the headquarters were Sirius Black’s home had been…

She didn’t know what to think of it. She felt conflicted by the urge to shout all manner of accusations at the man, even as she wanted to stay far away him, yet all the while on the verge of begging for her friend back.

As if Bee was something Sirius could simply give her, without all the baggage that entailed.

Hermione spent the first few nights in Grimmauld Place ill at ease. Her sleep was restless and every day she would avoid Sirius’s gaze, practically running from the room if he entered.

It seemed like he was letting her. He had a resigned air to him during those few days.

Until suddenly, it became apparent that he’d had enough.

He crept up on her one morning. She was searching for a mug, the kettle boiling beside her, and froze when his arm opened a cupboard above her. She silently grabbed a cup and continued with her task.

Sirius sat at the table, watching her ignore him steadfastly. When she picked up her tea and went to flee the kitchen, his voice stopped her.

“Hermione.”

It was a weak, quiet tone. She responded in kind. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry.”

After a few moments, she took a breath. “You’ve said that.”

“I meant it.”

She turned and faced him for the first time. His gaze was sad, defeated. She felt an ache in her chest when meeting those eyes. They were Bee’s, undoubtedly.

“You were my friend,” she said. He nodded. “You protected me and helped me and then you left.” When he didn’t reply, she sighed. “Why did you leave? Why didn’t you tell me you were a wizard?”

“I never realised you were a witch. You didn’t show any signs when I was there.” He shook his head and stood. “You were five, Hermione. I would have scared you. It didn’t feel right.” His hands clenched at his sides. “I never meant to stumble across you. But then you were there and your parents were taking me to the vet and I couldn’t just leave. I put it off for so long… But I had to go.”

In the back of her mind, she realised he was right. A grown man that had once been a dog was a scary thought to those who’d never seen impossible things. And how was he to know she’d _done_ impossible things if her magic had been calm around him?

It didn’t erase the hurt, but something in her loosened. She felt a little lighter.

“I understand,” she said quietly, and something in him slackened too.

But the wound was still there, and though she felt wrong for asking, she had to.

“May I see him?”

He knew what she meant, of course he did, and pain flashed across his face. She felt awful for causing it, knew how damaging it must be for her to separate the two parts of him so definitely. But he nodded, his face carefully blank, and without a word, Bee was in front of her.

She strangled the sob rising in her throat and put down her mug of tea.

Bee wandered forward slowly until his nose bumped her leg. She went down so quickly, he let out a howl of worry, but then her arms were around his neck and her tears were buried in his fur and everything felt right.

She knew this would complicate things later, knew their friendship would be incredibly strained and that it would be difficult to hide from everyone else, but she didn’t want to share this with them. And though she knew she shouldn’t ask for Sirius to do this again, shouldn’t have asked in the first place, she also knew it would happen. She would come back and ask for more because this was her place of comfort.

A hole had been in her chest ever since her first friend had left her but now it was filled, even if temporarily.

Bee burrowed against her, all warm and soft. His tongue licked at her arm and she laughed weakly but didn’t rub away the slobber or let go of his neck.

Even with all the consequences this would have, she didn’t care. She had her friend Bee back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> I've recently started a Tumblr for news and ideas about all of my stories, existing and yet-to-be-written. **Feedback would be fantastic!** So if you want to interact with me more and have input on future decisions regarding my stories then head over to [www.fanpirex.tumblr.com](www.fanpirex.tumblr.com).
> 
> I look forward to possibly hearing from any of you! There's a lot of story-related thoughts that go through my head and loads of partially written stories still unpublished that I've never mentioned to you guys before, but I'd like to be more open about it all :]
> 
> Thank you for reading my rambles, even if you don't wanna join in, and have a brilliant day!


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